Winter Camping Part time

[rbadger28]

Considering parking my travel trailer at rv park for duration of the winter but I will occupy only during the weekends. This wil allow me to travel to itthe location more freely as it is in high country and towing during snow storms is not an option.

Any tonight's / concerns on leaving my TT unattended for days or couple of weeks at a time during some cold snow storms? I am figuring whenever I leave it unattended I will pull the slide in and empty all tanks completely. I think roof can handle the weight of the snow.

Appreciate any experience in this. Thanks.

[epfd217]

I see varying degrees of use mentioned. If you intend to have and use full hookups at the campground spot, then bpohart's given the best advise.

For me, if you've got electricity, bring a few water jugs and dry camp. A few jugs of RV antifreeze is cheap insurance and you there is no risk with cold weather freezing lines, no air compressors and very little setup/take down with every trip.

Either way, I'm glad to hear of more people using their rigs in the winter for more than snowbirding.

[rbpru]

Lets face it, anything but fully winterizing is a bit of a gamble but doing it every time is a real pain.

Blowing the pipes and leaving a small heater running with all the cabinets and pipe access covers open is something I would try, if I did not want to carry water and dry camp or re-winterize every time.

You have to decide how much of a gamble it is with your model TT and expected climate conditions.

Good Luck

[westend]

You are stretching your luck by not fully winterizing the plumbing.

Ask the BIL, he just cut his vacation short and flew back from Belize to oversee the replacement of his hot water heating system and all the plumbing in his S&B. They set the heat real low to save a few bucks and we had a few nights of well below O f. The heat couldn't keep up, the system started freezing and it shut down. The damage will be somewhere around $50K.

[rbadger28]

Pbohart you are correct, exactly what trying to do. Want to leave our rig in mountains for skiiing each weekend and not having to worry about pulling rig each weekend during storms.

I wonder if we left out space heater running on low the entire time (just like when unit is occupied) if this would eliminate need to blow lines etc.

[pbohart]

What you are planning on doing is exactly what I do. I leave my trailer up in the mountains from Thanksgiving through April - skiing every weekend. When I arrive, if there is significant snow on the slide out I remove it, but typically I just leave it. I leave my slides out all winter.

When you leave, winterize with a small air compressor after every use. Drain all tanks then hook up the compressor to the city water inlet. Open each faucet (hot and cold sides) one at a time and let it run until only air comes out. Open the low point drain and leave it open so that collecting water can run out during the week. Unhook your fresh water hose and alllow all of the water to run out. Pour some RV antifreeze into each if your P-traps.

That is really it. The whole pack-up/winterize process takes me about 35 minutes. Never had a major problem over the last 7 years.

Other things:
* Buy a good dehumidifier and run it constantly while you are up.
* Buy an oscillating ceramic heater. This will significantly cut down on your propane usage. * Buy an AC powered hose heater so that your waterline doesn't freeze on really cold nights.

We love it!!

[FLY_4_FUN]

If you don't run antifreeze through the lines and temps stay below freezing for a day or two then any residual water in fittings, pump etc will freeze and burst. Blowing out the lines with air MIGHT be enough, but even one sharkbite fitting costs as much as a gallon of antifreeze so why take the risk. Lotsa threads on here about folks who tried and failed to cheat the laws of physics and lost to mother nature. My .02

Daryll

[Lantley]

rbadger28 wrote:
Why do I need to insulate the lines every time? If I bleed them of water each time isn't that fine?

By bleed do you mean drain or blow them out? You mention lots of snow
Typically how cold is it?

[its_just_me]

rbadger28 wrote:
Why do I need to insulate the lines every time? If I bleed them of water each time isn't that fine?

Yes

[rbpru]

If I drain the low points and blow the lines out, there are still water droplets that collects in the sag of the water lines. Whether this is enough to freeze and burst I do not know.

I do know that when I pump in the antifreeze, there is a diluted water antifreeze mixture that comes out of the facets first.

I assume it is the residual water that is in the lines and faucet valves that the air did not blow out.

When we use our TT in the winter we just dry camp and use water jugs for cooking and the washhouse restrooms for the week end.

Also don't forget the "P" traps under the sink need to be drained or antifreeze added after you wash dishes etc.

Our is not a four season TT so a better insulated model may not be such a problem.

Good Luck

[Merrykalia]

We had ours at a lake lot for several years. When we would use it, we used all the features - water, heat, cooking, etc. When we left on Sunday evening, we would drain the tanks, blow out the water lines, but we left the low-point drains open so any leftover water would have an expansion place. We always pulled the hot water heater plug and drained it. We never had a problem, but that was several years ago and we had an older trailer. I don't know if things have changed or not.

[rbadger28]

Why do I need to insulate the lines every time? If I bleed them of water each time isn't that fine?

[camp-n-family]

Mine sits unattended for 4 months every winter just like many people in the north. Not a problem but in your case are you prepared to winterized the water lines every time you leave? Can you keep the water lines from freezing when you are using it? Can you reach the slide roof to shovel it off to retract it? Is the tt insulated enough and the furnace strong enough for the temps?

[coolmom42]

Be sure not to leave any food in it. You don't want a mouse invasion.

[westend]

Well, there is snow and then there is ....snow. Around here, we get about 48" on average, a mix of wet snow at the beginning and end of seasons and mostly dry stuff between. There are also days of above freezing where melt occurs. If we get a lot of the wet stuff, I'll get on a ladder and pull off the wet stuff with a roof rake. I have the typical roof rake enabled with a pair of small wheels so the edge of the rake doesn't contact the roof surface.

Beyond having a large amount of snow on the roof, there isn't anything wrong with your plan.